Now the action starts.
DISCLAIMER: If I owned Naruto, would I be writing this?
Last chapter:
The two shinobi landed in front of him. One had a reptilian, gilled, sharklike face. He also had a giant sword, wrapped in a cloth. The other member was female, with long blue hair and a flower in it. Both wore dark red cloud-patterned robes. Only one thought summed up the sudden chill Naruto felt.
Oh, fuck.
"Ohayo, Kakashi-san. Naruto-san," greeted the shark-man. His partner looked thoroughly annoyed.
"Cut the crap, Kisame." she said. "Out of the way, old man. We're here for the kid."
"And this is the charming Aoriko," said Kisame.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," said Kakashi.
"And if you kill him, I'll kill you," added Naruto. "Bring it."
Aoriko opened her cloak, and threw out blue flower petals. She began to make hand seals.
"Aohana Shuriken no Jutsu!" (Blue Flower Shuriken Technique) she yelled. The flowers turned into shuriken, which Naruto quickly dodged.
"I thought this was gonna be hard," said Naruto.
Aoriko opened a summoning scroll. "Kuchiyose: Taju Aohana no Jutsu!" (Summoning: Multiple Blue Flowers Technique). A large number of lowers flew from the scroll, and emitted a blue mist.
Naruto became disoriented, as the mist quickly seeped into his brain. He didn't know where to go, and he could only see blue. He tried to move, but he couldn't.
Aoriko laughed maniacally. "These flowers aren't just for show. That mist-it's pollen containing a toxin that disorients and confuses an opponent." She dropped into a combat stance. "Come and get me now, kyuubi-no-jinchuuriki."
Kisame grinned crazily. "Well, Aoriko seems to be taking care of the jinchuuriki, so it's just you and me, Hatake-san." He quickly drew Samehada, unwrapping it as he did so. Kakashi dropped into battle stance, drawing his ANBU katana.
The shark-nin swung his blade down at Kakashi, who readied himself to block the blow. Instead, he heard the clang of sharkskin on steel…steel that wasn't his.
"Hey, same-yaro!" yelled the attacker. "Pick on somebody else!"
Kakashi recognized the shinobi. "Ryo?" he asked.
The swordsman grinned. "In the flesh."
"We never did finish our last duel," said Kisame. He dropped into stance.
"That's why I'm here. Shinigami Konbi Henge – Kyodachi!" (Death God Combination Transformation – Great Sword) yelled Ryo, slamming both swords together. The two wakizashi transformed into a katana the size of a claymore (ancient two-handed sword), but Ryo held it easily with one hand.
Meanwhile, Naruto had managed to survive the poison by bleeding it out of him, and charged in to attack Aoriko.
"Rasengan Mashingan!" (Rasengan Machine Gun) yelled Naruto, shooting the blue-haired woman furiously with knife-like blue chakra bolts from a Rasengan in his palm.
Aoriko countered quickly. "Aohana-no-Tate no Jutsu!" (Blue Flower Shield Technique) she yelled, creating a shield out of her flowers. The shield deflected his attack, but only barely. Naruto went into a jump-kick, but Aoriko managed to block the kick with her shield.
Sakura heard the noise. It doesn't sound like a spar, more like a battle. I'd better alert Tsunade-sama.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu! thought Sakura, making the required hand seals and biting her thumb. In a puff of smoke, she summoned a smaller slug. "Go warn Tsunade-sama that someone's attacked Naruto and Kakashi at the training grounds," she commanded it; "I'm going to help my Naruto-kun." She drew on her black battle gloves, and ran to the training grounds.
Kisame made a few hand seals. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!" (Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave) he yelled, spitting water from his mouth, covering a large portion of the training grounds. Ryo, caught unawares, slipped, and Kisame grinned. "Suiton: Goshokuzame!" (Water Release: Five Eating Sharks) he said, and five sharks came from the water at Ryo.
Ryo quickly got up, as the sharks were summoned. "Summoning your own kin, eh, teme?" he grinned. "I'll cut them apart. One by one." He slashed vertically at the first shark, horizontally at the second, before throwing his sword like a boomerang and slashing the other three sharks in half.
At this moment Sakura burst onto the scene. She saw Kisame battling the mist-nin they met back on their mission to the Sound(who had retrieved his sword by now), and Naruto battling a strange blue-haired woman. She cracked her knuckles menacingly and thought, Whoever this bitch is, she's not gonna hurt Naruto-kun.
She charged in and gave a superhuman punch to Aoriko. "You won't get Naruto-kun!" she yelled.
Naruto smirked as he watched his girlfriend in action. She's so sexy when she's threatening.
Despite having two broken ribs, Aoriko managed to chuckle a little. "Aww, how sweet," she said "Your girlfriend's come to rescue you jinchuuriki. Then I'll just kill both you lovers."
She went into taijutsu stance. Naruto charged in with a kick, but he was effortlessly deflected. She summoned more blue flowers, disorienting both Naruto and Sakura with her poisonous mist. However, Sakura sensed her chakra, and gave a tremendous kick at the source.
Aoriko grimaced in pain. Such strength…such precision…it's inhuman. She pulled out shuriken and started throwing them, hoping to impale Sakura and Naruto. Naruto just sliced them in half, and Sakura caught them and threw them back.
Sakura punched, and Aoriko successfully blocked. But, because of doing so, she felt sharp pain in her arm. The two women entered a one-on-one battle. Sakura threw a roundhouse kick at the blue-haired woman.
Aoriko got hit in the chin and countered quickly with a hail of punches. She winced at the pain, but viciously kicked Sakura in the legs. Sakura tripped, but easily flipped backwards, and in an effortless motion, drew and threw a kunai. It grazed Aoriko's shoulder, but the blue-haired woman threw a shuriken.
Ryo was fighting hard against Kisame. He blocked each stroke, but Kakashi could tell he was barely holding his own. Even with his Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique), Kisame was blocking Ryo's every stroke, and getting in a lot of damage. Ryo blocked Kisame's downward cut but was having trouble holding his kyodachi.
"Teme…I'm gonna beat you one on one…just like I said I would…"
Flashback
A shorter version of Momochi Zabuza stepped forward. Kisame snorted.
"Bringing in your little brother Momochi? This is the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, not some treehouse club."
"Say that again, you bastard shark," snarled Ryo.
Kisame drew his sword and swung sharply downward. Ryo blocked his first stroke, but was unable to avoid the others.
"He's weak" said Kisame, putting away his sword and dusting his hands with an air of satisfaction. "Guess he never followed your example Momochi."
End Flashback
"I'm gonna win!" he yelled, standing up and holding his kyodachi with new strength.
Kakashi, who had whipped out Icha Icha Paradise as soon as Ryo had stepped in, gaped. Such a massive spike in chakra… it's almost inhuman.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique), Ryo declared, pouring every bit of chakra he had into it, shooting the sharklike man backwards with a giant blast. He began to mercilessly slash at Kisame, slicing him to ribbons.
"So you…got me…after all…" said Kisame, gasping for breath. The Akatsuki member died then and there. Ryo disassembled his sword, then just like Kisame had done so many years ago, dusted his hands with an air of satisfaction. "Weak," he spat in the direction of the shark-man's corpse.
Just then, a giant clay bird flew low overhead. It's that Deidara guy, Naruto thought.
"Sorry, kids. But my ride's here," said Aoriko. She was picked up onto the clay bird by Deidara.
"I wouldn't count on that if I were you," said a female voice. Ino stepped out of the trees, twirling a kunai. She made a few hand seals and yelled "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" (Mind Body Switch Technique) Her spirit flew up into Deidara's head and uttered a word that spelled doom for all the Akatsuki present.
"Katsu."
The giant clay bird exploded, and the Akatsuki members fell to the ground. They were met by a team of ANBU, and two interrogators, Morino Ibiki and Yamanaka Ino.
"Well," said Ino, taking out a kunai and twirling it around her finger, "We can do this the hard way, or the harder way."
Ibiki had taught her very well.
Well, that's it. The Akatsuki fight will continue, but on another level. Also, what do you think of the Lee/Ayame pairing? I again have to credit my brother for editing this chapter.